What do these three women have in common?  And what does it have to do with me??  Read on to find out!

 

In 1870, there were no automobiles in San Francisco. It would be six years before electricity was available and nine years before the telephone appeared on the West Coast.  It was in this environment that Leander Sherman founded Sherman Clay Pianos, and in 1892, Sherman Clay was authorized as a dealer for the prestigious Steinway & Sons piano makers.  Like his counterparts at Steinway & Sons in New York, who built Steinway Hall onto their showroom as a way to showcase their pianos to concertgoers, Leander Sherman worked to bring the finest concert artists and opera stars of the time to the San Francisco, with many of them performing at Sherman Clay's own concert hall.

In keeping with this history, Sherman Clay Pianos, in association with my good friends at Esses Productions, are producing the inaugural Steinway Cabaret Series at the company's showroom in Walnut Creek, California.  The concerts will showcase vocalists - and their pianists, playing magnificent Steinway pianos - and take place at 5pm on each Sunday in April.  Wesla Whitfield and Mike Greensill open the series on April 6, followed by Meg Mackay and Billy Philadelphia on April 13, Russ Lorenson and Kelly Park on April 20, and M.L. Parr and John Burr on April 27.

I'll be performing songs from my shows, A Little Travelin' Music and Benedetto/Blessed, as well as previewing some songs from my new show, which will debut later in 2008.

Tickets are $15, which includes a post-show reception hosted by Sherman Clay.  This is an intimate venue, and SEATING IS LIMITED.  For reservations and information call (925) 932-0100.

April 20, at Sherman Clay Pianos in Walnut Creek, CA
 

I'm so excited that Nunsense creator Dan Goggin has asked me to reprise my role as Father Virgil in a new production of Sister Amnesia's Country Western Nunsense Jamboree at the Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester, Michigan! And marking my second career appearance on the same bill as a former "Catwoman" (the first was Eartha Kitt), I'll be appearing in this production beside the beautiful and talented Lee Meriwether, who donned the famous black catsuit and ears for the 1966 film of Batman, a spinoff of the popular TV series.  Now if I could only swing a gig with Julie Newmar (the third Catwoman in the photo above)...

Now clad in a different black outfit, Ms. Meriwether will star as Sister Mary Wilhelm, the superintendent of nursing at Mount St. Helen's school. Picking up where the two previous Nunsense shows left off, Nunsense Jamboree is presented as a promotional tour for Sister Mary Amnesia's newly released album, I Could've Gone to Nashville. After regaining her memory, Sister Amnesia realizes she is really Sister Mary Paul, a former country singer. Reverend Mother, feeling that one should not waste God-given talent, gets Sister Mary Paul a recording contract and now she is on a national tour. She is accompanied by some familiar faces along with two new characters: Father Virgil Manly Trott (played by me) - a radio personality who just happens to be Sister Mary Leo's older brother - and Sister Mary Wilhelm, the superintendent of nursing at Mount St. Helen's School. This show is filled with hysterical one-liners and infectious comic tunes as they answer the big question - will Sister Amnesia leave the convent for the Grand Ole Op'ry? You'll have to wait till the finale, "Do Unto Others" to get the answer!

Nunsense was originally produced as a cabaret revue at The Duplex in New York's Greenwich Village in 1983, scheduled to run for four weekends only.  38 weeks later, the show was a certified hit, and it was expanded to a full-length musical.  It opened Off-Broadway in 1985, won four Outer Critics' Circle Awards, and in 1992 became the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical in history.  The show has been produced in over 25 countries in over 5000 different productions and has generated ticket sales of over $300 million!  Since the original, there have been 6 additional shows in the Nunsense franchise, including Sister Amnesia's Country Western Nunsense Jamboree, Nuncrackers: The Nunsense Christmas Musical, and Nunsensations: The Nunsense Vegas Revue.

The show runs May 28 through June 8 at the Meadow Brook Theatre (on the campus of Oakland University), with 8 performances a week.  Tickets are $22-$38, available by calling the box office at (248) 377-3300, or purchase online by clicking here.